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Tuesday, February 12, 2008
10 toughest tourney regions
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This is the week when everybody is jockeying for state tournament slots, and some promising basketball seasons are bound to come to sudden, unexpected ends while Cinderella jumps in her pumpkin chariot. At Take Ten, while we love surprises, we’d like to see the best teams slugging it out at the end of the month. So which regions are the toughest for top teams to escape from during the next few days? Here are our top 10.
10. 5-AAAA
Best teams — Cherokee, No. 9 Lithia Springs, Pebblebrook, Hillgrove, Osborne: The top four look solid and very tough, but Osborne entered this tournament with an earlier win over Pebblebrook that gave the Cardinals some confidence they could pull a surprise.
9. 2-AAA
Best teams — No. 1 Jordan, Northside-Columbus, Shaw, LaGrange, Carver-Columbus: Jordan has been unbeatable so far, but one of these next four will almost certainly miss the state tournament despite a strong year.
8. 6-AAAAA
Best teams — No. 1 Wheeler, Centennial, Northview, Sprayberry, Walton, Milton: On paper, Wheeler would seem like the obvious choice since the Wildcats didn’t lose a region game all year, but Sprayberry played them tight twice, as did a few non-region foes. If the Cats happen to go down, this one is wide open.
7. 2-AAAAA
Best teams — No. 3 M.L. King, Douglass, Stephenson, Redan, Newton: MLK is the most complete team in the region, but Douglass has surprised all year, and the Astros entered the postseason with a chance to do so again. This region is top-heavy but tough.
6. 4-AAAAA
Best teams — No. 9 Mundy’s Mill, Newnan, Hiram, Tri-Cities, Morrow: This is one of the closest regions from top to bottom, with Mundy’s Mill and Newnan occupying, but not dominating, the top two spots. All five of these teams came in with a shot at this region if a break or two went their way.
5. 6-AA
Best teams — No. 4 Wesleyan, No. 3 GAC, No. 8 Lovett, Pace, Decatur, Avondale: Wesleyan and GAC may be vying for the role of favorite, but the next three are pretty closely matched, and the strength of the south subregion gave this one additional intrigue.
4. 2-AAAA
Best teams — No. 1 Westlake, Fayette County, Creekside, McIntosh, Banneker, Woodward: There is a large pack of teams vying for the third and fourth playoff spots in this region because there really isn’t a clear-cut favorite after you get past Westlake.
3. 5-AAAAA
Best teams — No. 4 McEachern, No. 5 Marietta, No. 8 Harrison, Campbell, Kennesaw Mountain, South Cobb, Etowah: Like 6-AA, this region has three top-10 teams. But this one has more depth, with a long list of teams that could definitely make a run at the playoffs and a history of surprises.
2. 5-AAA
Best teams — No. 2 South Atlanta, No. 3 Dunwoody, No. 7 Blessed Trinity, Druid Hills, Chamblee, Riverwood: Those top three are as good as the top three in any region in the state. The next three are tough too. And even with Druid Hills getting surprised by Therrell on Monday, Chamblee and Riverwood still have to battle for that fourth spot.
1. 6-AAAA
Best teams — No. 2 Columbia, No. 4 Tucker, No. 7 Miller Grove, No. 8 Marist, No. 10 Stone Mountain, Mays: No region has more top 10 teams, and no region has a tougher top half than this one. Columbia and Tucker are the standard-bearers. Miller Grove and Stone Mountain are the relative newcomers to the top. Marist is the surprise. Mays is just behind them all. Two teams from this region played in the state final last year; don’t be surprised if it happens again this season.
Go ahead. Take Ten. What do you think is the toughest region to get out of? Can any region stand up to the strength of 6-AAAA? Give us your winners and your surprises. Who’s going to be dancing next week?
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Cass, Henry Co. in Riverwood rematch
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wrestling writer Kurt Aschermann Jr. ranks the top wrestling teams in the state, regardless of class: Week of Feb. 11.
Pin it down and rank the rankings: Let us know who YOUR Top 10 are and how they stack up against Kurt’s picks.
It didn’t have the glitz and glamour of the state duals, but Cass and Henry County got together at Riverwood to settle a score of sorts. Although the Class AAA co-champions in last month’s duals were without key starters &mdash Henry minus Anthony Fretwell, Cass minus Stevie Timm and Jason Evans — and it was impossible to capture the Macon-type atmosphere, the dual, won 46-28 by Cass, still held some intrigue.
The marquee match was at 119 pounds where Cass’ Justin Martin majored Evan Warrington, 14-4, in a long, bizarre dual that saw Martin pick up six penalty points. Martin, who earlier in the day picked up career victory No. 200 against Riverwood, got a late takedown and near fall to secure the decision. After Henry County picked up a pin at 125 to cut the lead to 20-18, Cass won the next three matches to go ahead 37-18.
Pound-for-Pound Top 10 (last week’s rankings in parenthesis)
1. Collins Hill (1) — Eagles move up a spot to No. 30 in latest AWN Prep 40
2. Union Grove (2) — Wolverines hit with injuries, sickness; still favorites at this weekend’s 2-AAAAA tournament
3. Pope (3) — Greyhounds dominate Loganville Tournament
4. Jefferson (4) — Three champions help Dragons win Vidalia Tournament
5. Cass (5) — Colonels 5-0 at Riverwood, including victory against Henry County
6. Harrison (6) — Hoyas take weekend off to get ready for 5-AAAAA Traditional
7. Lafayette (7) — Ramblers could qualify all 14 this weekend at 4-AA tourney
8. Ringgold (9) — Two impressive victories against Our Lady of Mercy and Milton help Tigers get ready for tough 7-AAAA tourney
9. Eastside (8) — Eagles go 2-1 at Parkview Duals; lose to Parkview
10. Gilmer (10) — Bobcats heavy favorites at 7-AAA bash this weekend
Takedowns
• Another coach reached a milestone this past weekend. Northgate’s Adrian Anderson picked up career dual win No. 300 in a 66-15 victory against Landmark Christian.
• No. 1 Collins Hill seems to be wrestling in its own world. The Eagles (43-2) lost four matches at the Grayson Duals in picking up victories against Warner Robins, Grayson and Walton.
• Martin wasn’t the only Cass wrestler to hit a milestone against Riverwood as 135-pounder Chase Lackey won his 150th career match against the Raiders.
Pin it down and rank the rankings: Let us know who YOUR Top 10 are and how they stack up against Kurt’s picks.
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